Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Penn St. 63, Southern California 61
When: 3:30 PM ET, Sunday, November 23, 2014
Where: TD Arena, Charleston, South Carolina
Officials: # John Hampton, # Ted Valentine, # Mark Whitehead
Attendance: 1220


Penn State 63, USC 61: D.J. Newbill scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half as the Nittany Lions edged the Trojans in the fifth-place game of the Charleston Classic.

Shep Garner contributed 12 of his 13 points in the first half for Penn State (4-1), which won its final two games in Charleston by a total of three points after dropping a double-overtime thriller to Charlotte in the opening round on Thursday. Newbill scored all of his second-half points in the final 10-plus minutes to finish the three-game event with 83.

Katin Reinhardt paced USC (2-3) with 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting while junior Strahinja Gavrilovic produced his first career double-double off the bench with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan McLaughlin tallied 12 points on a 4-of-12 effort from the field as the Trojan shot 27.3 percent to waste a 51-37 rebounding advantage – including 29 offensive boards.

USC missed its first eight shots and Penn State built a 15-2 advantage just over five minutes into the contest behind two 3-pointers from Garner. The Trojans stormed back with 16 of the next 19 points to tie it and took the lead following five straight points from Darion Clark before the Nittany Lions countered with the next seven points and took a 31-30 edge into the break.

McLaughlin started a 7-0 spurt with a triple with just under 12 minutes remaining to give USC a six-point cushion and hit another 3-pointer five minutes later to keep the Trojans in front, but seven straight points by Newbilll during an 13-5 run allowed the Nittany Lions to go ahead 58-54. The Trojans closed within one three times over the final 2:06, but a jumper and a pair of free throws from Newbill and a foul shot from Garner preserved the win.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Sunday marked the second all-time meeting between the two schools and first since Penn State downed USC in the third-place game of the 1954 NCAA Tournament. …. Trojans freshman F Malik Martin, who suffered a hyperextension of his right knee in Friday’s win over Drexel, did not play and is scheduled to undergo an MRI when the team returns to Los Angeles on Monday. … Underclassmen have accounted for 284 of the USC’s 317 points this season.

Top Game Performances
 
Southern California   Penn St.
Katin Reinhardt 14 Scoring D.J. Newbill 22
Jordan McLaughlin 4 Assists D.J. Newbill 4
Strahinja Gavrilovic 10 Rebounds Donovon Jack 8
Strahinja Gavrilovic 9 Free Throws Made D.J. Newbill 4
Jordan McLaughlin 3 Steals Donovon Jack 1
Nikola Jovanovic 3 Blocks Donovon Jack 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Southern California 61 27.3 7-22 18-27 11 41 5 7 13
Penn St. 63 42.4 7-22 6-10 10 28 5 3 15